


Read My Mind (B&Bs are scarier than I thought)

by AndrewIsBored



Series: What A Weird/Wonderful World - Ryan and Shane [2]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Believer Ryan Bergara, Demon Shane Madej, Gen, Protective Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej Friendship, mentioned tj marchbank
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25290826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndrewIsBored/pseuds/AndrewIsBored
Summary: During what is supposed to be a routine investigation, Ryan and Shane learn more about each other- and themselves- than they ever thought they would..(There are brief mentions of blood, murder, and death as is typical for most BFU cases).Sequel to Why You Shouldn't Summon Demons In Your Living Room at Three pm (You might summon your friend)
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej
Series: What A Weird/Wonderful World - Ryan and Shane [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823404
Comments: 9
Kudos: 163





	Read My Mind (B&Bs are scarier than I thought)

There were a few things that Shane always found interesting about Ryan.

One: For some godforsaken reason, Ryan genuinely enjoyed tacos from Jack-in-the-Box. Now, Shane didn’t have much experience with said fast food chain, seeing as it had a certain reputation that encouraged avoidance, but he knew enough to know that anyone who liked their tacos was generally not to be trusted. 

Two: When Ryan was a child he fell from a tree and landed in a pile of bricks, hitting his head. Ryan claims this to be the reason he supposedly can see ghosts, but Shane calls bullshit. He had a small scar there, on the back of his head, unnoticeable to those who didn’t know it was there, he was a little self conscious about it. Didn’t like that it gave him a bald spot, Shane thought it added character, a reminder that his friend was mortal.

And Three, the most interesting of them all: Shane, no matter how much he tries,  _ cannot _ read Ryan’s mind. 

There are quite a few abilities that nearly every demon has, one of them being the ability of, to some extent, reading minds. Most can only get vague concepts, feelings, or bits of random words, used to deduce what their victim wanted, what their weaknesses were, how to get to them. Shane however, was a bit more gifted than most, with enough focus he could hear exactly what someone was thinking word for word, hell, sometimes it didn’t take effort at all. Some projected their thoughts so loudly his ears seemed to ring, other times he was simply unable to filter them.

But Ryan, Ryan Bergara, was an enigma to him. 

It wasn’t that Ryan’s mind was blank, Shane knew that much, he could sense the swirling thoughts beneath whatever barrier prevented him from reading them. He knew Ryan’s mind practically never stopped running, always analyzing his surroundings, picking apart details most would overlook, planning his quips and edits ahead of time. He could see it in the way his eyes scanned over everything, even Shane himself. 

Honestly, sometimes Ryan’s intelligence scared him. Not that Shane wasn’t intelligent himself, thousands of years of life had its perks, but Ryan sometimes seemed to just…  _ know _ things. Things that he shouldn't have been able to know, things no one told him, things you couldn’t even know from hours of research. 

No one else seemed to notice of course, observant, that’s what they called him. If Ryan knew someone was pregnant before anyone else did? Well he must have noticed the test in the bathroom. If he complemented TJ on his new car even though he took the bus? Well, he must have seen the keys in his pocket. If Ryan silently passed Steven a pack of dayquil hours before he even started sniffling? Well, the cold was going around, and Steven got sick easily, it would happen eventually. 

And if sometimes Ryan knew what Shane was going to say before he did? Well, they were close friends, it happens sometimes, right?

Ryan was mortal, Shane knew that for a fact, but any time he tried to reach his metaphorical ‘feelers’ out to dig deeper than that, something stopped him. An invisible barrier of sorts, it was impossible to get past, it startled him deeply. A barrier like that took powerful magic, it took skill, skill that Ryan, a mere human, shouldn’t be able have. 

Shane wasn’t sure that Ryan was even aware of this, he certainly seemed oblivious to it. Even a powerful warlock would be able to tell that Shane was trying to dig past that barrier, they would be, at the very least, showing some kind of strain, maintaining eye contact to make the block more effective. But Ryan just sat there, calmly sipping his coffee as he typed with his other hand, it was almost infuriating how unaffected he was. He would usually think that maybe, after learning Shane was a demon, he’d maybe called a pastor or started wearing a cross for protection, but Ryan had always been impossible to read. Whatever it was, it started before he even met Shane.

“Is there something on my face?” Ryan asked, his eyes still focused on the screen in front of him. Shane nearly huffed at the fact that he’d been caught staring, though he knew it’d happen eventually.

“Nope.” He replied, ceasing his attempts at mind reading to focus instead on his work. 

“Hey, check this one out.” Ryan nudged him a few minutes later, turning his screen for Shane to see. “It’s only an hour drive, and check out the legend.”

“Beverly Farms is known for its prolific demonic activity, following the death of one-” Shane broke off into laughter as Ryan glared.

“What? What’s wrong-” He cut himself off and sighed. “It’s the name isn’t it?”

“Jackoff!” Shane weheezed.

“It’s _Jack_ _Goff_!” Ryan protested. “It’s not that funny.”

“You’re right.” he managed. “God… what’s this guy's middle name?”

Ryan took a deep breath to steel himself for the reaction he knew was coming. “Richard”

“Ha!” Shane slapped his own knee. “Oh, this poor guy, his name is Jack Dick Off!”

“ _ Goff _ !” Ryan corrected again, he groaned. “Whatever. Think it’s good for the next episode?”

“Oh yeah. I for one, would love to talk good ol Jack Off.”

“I fucking hate you…” Ryan muttered.

“Oh… I know.” Shane grinned, and against Ryan’s strongest will, he smiled too.

\- - - 

“Alright, we’re here at Beverly Farms, home to what some believe is a demonic entity.” 

“And also where the great Jack Off was born.”

“Jack  _ Goff _ !” Ryan snapped. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

“I think this is great!” Shane clapped, gesturing grandly to the farm turned B&B. “I mean, who doesn’t wanna stay a night at this place!”

“Lucky for us, we get actual beds this time.” Ryan said, zooming in on the barn with his thermal camera. 

“I mean, we could sleep in the barn.” Shane offered. “Get cozy with the horses.”

“There aren’t actually any animals here.” Ryan told him. “They got moved last week.”

“Really?” Shane asked. “Why?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I didn’t ask.” He shrugged. “Anyway, let’s talk about the barn.”

“Ooh, goodie!” He stepped easily over the fence behind Ryan, following him into the empty grey barn. “Aren’t barns usually red?”

“Paint’s old.” Ryan muttered, narrowly avoiding a bucket of murky water by the entrance. He walked over to the ladder leading up to the second floor, pointing his flashlight up. “Right up there is where Mr. Goff died in 1902.”

“How did he die?” 

“Uh, well, records weren’t very well kept back then. Some accounts say suicide, some say murder, others…” He trailed off, squinting up at the darkness of the second floor.

Shane snapped his fingers to regain his attention. “Others say what, Ry?”

“Uh, others say it was the demon, but some think that Goff was the demon.” He continued. “No one really knows for sure, but they found him up here, throat slit.”

“Jeez.” Shane winced. “I kinda feel bad for ripping on his name now.”

“I somehow doubt that.” Ryan replied. “Let’s head up.”

“You sure you don’t wanna sleep up here?” Shane teased, watching as Ryan inspected the room with wide eyes. “I mean, I could get pretty cozy here.”

“I did actually ask, but it’s gonna be too cold tonight.” Ryan admitted. “And the owner didn’t want us up here for too long.”

“Really?” Shane took a seat on the wooden floor, the place seemed sturdy enough, a few small piles of hay were laying about, above Shane’s head was a swaying lantern. “Hey, do you have a match?”

“I have a lighter.” Tj said from behind the camera, she tossed it over, and Shane lit the lantern.

“Boom. Atmosphere.” He announced, grinning as Ryan rolled his eyes.

The small flame gave a warm glow to the cold grey inside of the barn, letting them turn off their flashlights. Though Ryan was thankful for the light, he wasn’t particularly fond of how the flickering flame caused the shadows to grow and dance over the chipped and rotting walls. 

“I can’t tell if this is better or not…” Ryan admitted, the wind outside seemed to kick up, whistling through the holes in the old barn.

“Well, Ry, wanna try talking to this ghost?”

“I guess.” He seemed as uneasy as he usually was on these nights, shifting his weight on the unsteady looking boards, eyes continuously searching for… well, Shane wasn’t sure what for. 

“Alright, get your little ghost box out.” He sighed, Ryan set the box down on the floor and turned it on, both of them flinched at the jarring noises. “I swear this thing is gonna make us deaf.”

“Maybe then I wouldn’t have to listen to your shit.” Ryan mused.

“Ryan, I think you’ll be hearing my shit til the day I die.” Shane promised, Ryan grinned.

“And after?”

“No, Ryan, I’ll be dead.” He sighed.

“Or will you?” Ryan stage whispered, Shane imagined that in the editing process, some dramatic string music would be added as the two stared each other down. 

“Are you gonna ask our guest any questions, or?” Ryan shook his head at him before he sat down in front of the spirit box, setting his flashlight down.

“Alright, hello, I’m Ryan.”

“I’m Shane.” He gave a half hearted salute to the stale air, Ryan rolled his eyes.

“Is there anyone here who would like to speak to us?” The question was met with continuous static and a piece of dust flying into Shane’s eyeball. 

“You wanna maybe, do a little tap dance for us?” Shane asked. “Maybe tickle my beard a little? Anything to let us know you’re there?”

“Tickle my beard?” Ryan snorted. 

“Yeah, It’s nice and soft, freshly trimmed.” Shane offered, smiling when Ryan began to laugh. “Go on, Jack, give it a little tickle. I’d say pull on it but…”

“It’s not exactly a beard really.” Ryan said. “More like overgrown stubble.”

“Okay.” Shane frowned, he pointed his flashlight at Ryan’s face, earning a harsh smack to the knee. “Rude.”

“You just straight up blinded me!” Ryan cried, he blinked rapidly and turned his attention back to the spirit box. “I’m sorry about him, he’s got issues.”

“I’ll give you one more chance to say something.” Ryan said after a minute or two of silence.

“Yeah, or forever hold your peace.” Shane added. 

Miraculously, Jack Goff did not appear in front of them and tap dance or tickle Shane’s not-beard. They let the disorienting static continue for another thirty seconds before Ryan turned it off and stood, brushing the dust from his clothes. 

“Well, that was… thoroughly disappointing.” He decided, Shane hummed in agreement as he stood as well. A cold breeze of wind blew in suddenly from the window, extinguishing the lamp beside Shane and leaving them in near total darkness.   
“Oh, shit, fuck, shit!” Ryan swore as he fumbled with his flashlight, cold hands struggling to turn it back on. Shane evidently took pity on him as he turned on his own flashlight with ease, one perk of being a demon, he didn’t get cold. 

“Holy sh- did you see that?!” Ryan wheezed, propping himself against the wall like he was about to faint. Shane nodded.

“Yes, the wind blew the candle out. Spooky!” He declared, Ryan glared.

“Are you serious? You don’t find that scary?” He asked incredulously. “Right as we go to leave the candle blows out?”

“Hey, maybe ol Jack didn’t want us to forget it and burn his little barn down.” He shrugged. “Or maybe, and this might seem a little out there…”

Shane glanced around the room before he cupped a hand around his mouth and spoke. “It was the  _ wind _ .”

“You’re unbelievable.” Ryan groaned, “I hate you.”

“I know.” Shane grinned, giving his friend a pat on the shoulder. “Let’s move on!”

They moved inside the B&B for the rest of their investigation, going through each room and attempting contact with whatever spirits may be there. Shane grew bored pretty quickly as each room yielded little results, though it was still as entertaining as ever to watch Ryan panic at every creaking floorboard. He was about to suggest they move to another room when Ryan lifted his head in the direction of the front door.

“She’s early.” He noted, Shane blinked.

“Huh?” Ryan gave him a look as he gestured for Tj to follow him to the door. 

“The manager, didn’t you hear the knock?” He opened the door to reveal the woman in question, her hand paused in the air and ready to knock on the door. 

“Oh.” She lowered her hand in surprise. “Hello, I hope it’s okay that i’m early.”

Shane watched in astonishment as Ryan greeted their interviewee/guest. Another fun fact about being a demon, or really any other supernatural being; their hearing was especially good, as was their ability to sense new presences. Despite this however, Ryan had somehow both heard the knock and known the manager was there when Shane didn’t. 

_ Weird, maybe I  _ **_am_ ** _ getting old… _

“So, tell us about this place, what kind of things happen here?” Ryan asked. The manager, Kelly, smoothed down her skirt as she thought over the question, glancing a bit nervously around the room.

“Well, this place is very old, and a lot of deaths have happened here, the most noticeable being Jack Goff.” She began, Ryan nodded seriously, encouraging her to continue. He had that look on his face again, that look that made Shane feel like he was under a microscope when it was pointed at him. That look that told him Ryan was inspecting every word closely, tearing it apart in his brain to see what it was made of, and then stitching it back up and moving on to the next. He could understand why Kelly seemed a little nervous, in all honesty, that look intimidated  _ him _ sometimes.

“We get a lot of complaints from guests, cold spots, doors and windows opening, footsteps, lights flickering out… Sometimes they leave this place with scratches up and down their necks.”

“Really?” Ryan pressed, “Has anything ever happened to you?”

Kelly swallowed thickly and nodded, she reached up to the scarf around her neck, and briefly glanced at the camera as she tugged it down. Ryan sucked in a breath as three thin, long white scars were revealed, jagged and painful looking.

“Jesus.” He muttered, Shane’s eyebrows reached his hairline as he saw them. 

“How did that happen?” Shane asked, Kelly wrapped her scars back up and tugged at the ends of her sleeves.

“Ah, well… I don’t know exactly.” She admitted. “I was working in the barn, middle of summer in the evening, and I guess I just got tired. I fell asleep against the wall and…”

She stopped to collect herself, and Ryan’s look softened ever so slightly. “Take your time, you don’t have to continue if you don’t want to.”

“I’m alright.” She cleared her throat and continued. “I woke up to this burning sensation on my neck, it felt like I was on fire. But the rest of me felt like I'd been dumped in an ice bath. I thought maybe I had heat stroke or something but…”

“Then I felt something warm, and wet, trickling down my neck and chest… I, god, I thought I was just sweating but when I went to wipe it off, my hand came back red.”

“That must have been terrifying.” Shane sympathised, she nodded, carefully wiping at her eyes.

“It wasn’t that deep thankfully, just enough to draw blood, I climbed down the ladder and stumbled over to the house, that’s when Earl, the owner, found me. He didn’t waste any time, didn’t even blink, just wrapped a towel around my neck and shoved me into the truck to drive me to the hospital.” 

“What did the hospital say?” Ryan inquired, Kelly laughed, but it was hollow and forced.

“They thought it must’ve been a raccoon.” She told them. “Earl thinks someone tried to kill me, I think… Well, I don’t know what I think.” 

Ryan considered his next words very carefully, allowing Kelly to take a few deep breaths first. “Do you think it might be connected to some supernatural activity?” 

“Honestly? I don't know, I’m willing to entertain any possibility.” She replied, “Maybe it was a raccoon, maybe it was some serial killer, maybe it was a demon. I think my takeaway is that I’m glad I’m alive, and that it wasn’t worse.”

“Right, well, thank you so much for your time, and for sharing your story with us, I can’t imagine it was easy to relive that.” Kelly smiled, holding out her hand for them both to shake.

“Thank you for believing me.” She breathed, “It feels like a big weight has been taken off my chest, I’ve always wanted to talk about this, maybe get some answers.”

“I’m glad that you feel better about it, we’ll see what we can do.” Shane promised.

“Well, that was… Harrowing.” Ryan said after she had left.

“Yeah, here I thought Jackoff was just gonna play us a dandy little tune.” Shane joked, effectively lightening the mood and making Ryan groan loudly.

“Jesus christ, dude.” He chided, barely hiding his laughter, Shane grinned and clapped his back, standing up. 

“Well, Ryan, I think we have some work to do.”

**Author's Note:**

> pls leave kudos uwu


End file.
